Australian Business Expectations Survey: Confidence down, late payments and business failures up

4 Jul 2017

Confidence down, late payments and business failures up

As slow wage growth and lacklustre GDP figures weigh on the economy, expectations for sales, profits and capital investment are down for the
third quarter of 2017 according to Dun & Bradstreet's June Business Expectations Survey. Upbeat employment and selling prices expectations provide
some positive news, but the forecast is for choppy waters ahead.

"The overall cautious tone of business expectations remains, with the final result confirming lower confidence for the September quarter.
Actual activity also remained soft and lags well behind expectations. The on-going weakness in the economy, confirmed by the recent national
accounts for the March quarter, has been forecast by the D&B Business Expectations Survey in recent months and, on current measures, the economy is
expected to remain on a moderate growth trajectory into the second half of 2017."Stephen Koukoulas, Dun & Bradstreet Economic Adviser

Established in 1887, Dun & Bradstreet is Australia and New Zealand's longest-established credit information bureau. Backed by its extensive database, Dun & Bradstreet helps businesses to make informed credit decisions, and consumers to access personal credit information. Dun & Bradstreet works across the entire credit lifecycle to deliver data-driven solutions in sales and marketing, credit reporting and debt management. Through analysis of financial and behavioural information, Dun & Bradstreet also provides current and predictive assessments of the economy, business conditions and credit activity.